"I realized those good old days weren't really all that great," Kracl writes, recalling countless forms and broken pencils.

He continues to lambast the dinosaurs of mortgage lending for not getting up to speed on social media. (For what's its worth, in the very same issue HousingWire outlines the varying social media strategies utilized by mortgage lenders and servicers.)

"It's time we all realize that we're in the communication business," Kracl writes.

"If you don't have a Twitter account, get one," he advises. "Post your rates on Twitter. Get some followers. Start following others. Let people know you are in the mortgage business."

And, when the time is right, you can even use Twitter as a notification that your life is now moving in a new direction:

To my friends at #mortech and #zillow, its been a great ride. Best of luck.

Jacob Gaffney is the Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s). At HousingWire, he began focusing his journalism on all aspects of the housing and mortgage markets.

This month inHousingWire magazine

The appraisal industry is in the midst of huge disruption as automated valuation models and hybrid appraisal products gain favor with regulators and investors. What does the future hold for appraisers and appraisal companies as they adjust to the new realities of automation?

Feature

[Free HousingWire Magazine read] As Millennials grapple with paying off student loans, their opportunity to buy a home gets pushed further and further into the future. That delay has consequences far beyond individual students — the growing student debt crisis impacts every part of the economy.

Commentary

There has been a conscious and rapid shift to broaden the use of alternative valuation products for origination. Not every decision needs a $500, full-blown 1004 interior appraisal. And in some markets where appraisers are short in number, the turn times can stretch from days to weeks. What these new alternative — some would say disruptive — valuation products do is enable lenders and servicers to better match the product to the risk by harnessing big data and technology.